A venipuncture can be made in many areas of the human body, such as the forearm, upper arm, or leg. In veterinary medicine, venipuncture is usually performed on a forelimb of the animal patient. In a typical venipuncture procedure, a catheter is inserted into a vein by means of a hollow needle which is then withdrawn to avoid damage to the walls of the punctured vein. The catheter remains in the vein of the patient and is connected to a source of infusion liquid. It is then necessary to stabilize the catheter to prevent movement which may work the catheter loose and create a potential source of infection or irritation to the patient at the point of catheter insertion. This stabilization is generally done by taping the catheter hub and associated tube fittings to the patient's skin in an area adjacent to the point of catheter insertion.
Although it is important to obtain secure stabilization of the inserted catheter or needle, use of adhesive tape is not always desirable. For example, repeated application and removal of adhesive tape from the skin of a long-term patient may damage the skin of the patient and be quite painful. The use of such adhesive tapes is also quite time-consuming, requiring that strips of adhesive tape or similar materials be individually cut and trimmed to fasten the IV catheter directly to the skin of a patient or animal. Time consumption becomes a larger factor in situations where the adhesive tape must be frequently changed. Changes in swelling conditions of the limb in which the catheter is placed exacerbate these problems as they often require re-stabilization of the inserted catheter with new adhesive. Moreover, in some circumstances, the condition of the skin may prevent proper adhesion of the adhesive strips.
Additionally, catheterization of an animal patient presents additional problems. A canine, for example, who has been catheterized often attempts to chew at the catheterization site. Prior art techniques that use adhesives are generally insufficient to protect the inserted catheter. Accordingly, as to veterinary applications, there is an especial need to secure inserted IV catheters and to prevent the animal patient from chewing or otherwise disturbing the catheter.
Accordingly, there has been a need for a novel catheter stabilizing device which secures and protects a catheter hub or a syringe body adjacent to a venipuncture site. The need exists for such a catheter stabilizing device to be of simplified construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and easily understood and used by medical and veterinary personnel. Additionally, a catheter stabilizing device is needed which may be readily attached to or detached from the patient without the use of adhesives. Moreover, a need exists for such a catheter stabilizing device which is easy to place upon the limb of the patient, and is adapted to hold not only the catheter hub assembly, but also the tubes feeding fluid to the venipuncture site. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.